Passaic Valley Rotary Run 5K - Nov. 28, 2020

Hi!  Remember me?  I used to run sub-18 5Ks.  Almost every time.  For nine straight years.  

And who am I now?  Not that guy.  I am the guy that used to be that guy.  But if I have to settle for that, then for the usual 5K that comes a month after a marathon, I would run a course that I had mastered when I was that guy.

Ah, Little Falls, my old stomping grounds.  I had run the Passaic Valley Rotary Run six times between 2008 and 2015, with times that varied from 19:21 in 2009 to 18:08 in 2015.  I lived in that township during those years and had run most of the roads.  I knew that course so well, I could do it with my eyes closed. So at least I would not have to worry about that aspect of it.  

What did worry me was that even though I was relentlessly doing speed work, I was getting slower with every passing week.  Just a couple of years ago, I could cover more than six miles in a 40-minute tempo run, getting down to a six-minute pace or better in the middle; now I can barely muster much more than 5.5 and the fast miles are not that fast.  Speaking of fast miles, when doing mile repeats, none of them are even getting near the 6-minute mark, whereas in 2018, I could blast out sub-6s.

Still, at the get-go on McBride Avenue from the Little Falls Recreation Center into Woodland Park, I managed a 6:10 first mile, turning onto Lackawanna Road and then Riverview Drive in Totowa, along the Passaic River, and that gave me a glimmer of hope.

I knew there was a hill coming and I geared myself up for it - push hard enough to get up quickly, but not so hard that it would deplete all my energy. Unfortunately, I failed on both counts - that mile ended up being 6:47 as I turned onto Union Boulevard and then Walnut Street, and it took the wind right out of my sails.  

The third mile, on Prospect Street, First Avenue, Wilmore Road and, finally, Maple to Paterson Avenue and straight downhill to the Rec Center was labored, and I only managed a 6:28.  My final time was 19:56.  Slower than even the first time I ran that course 12 years ago.  Slower than every 5K I have raced since 2007.

I went home, showered, ate pancakes and tried to not be depressed.  

Passaic Valley Rotary River Run 5K

The math was swirling around my head. If I could run the Passaic Valley Rotary 5K as fast as I ran the first three miles of the Ashenfelter 8K, just three days earlier, it would not only be an enormous PR, but it would be a monumental breakthrough - a sub-18-minute 5K.

This being my hometown race, which I have run five times before, I know the race course extremely well and can use the big uphill in the second mile and the huge downhill at the end of the race to plot strategic moves. And since the starting line is less than two miles from home, I could sleep a little later and not worry about travel issues.

But there were variables. First, even with two days of complete rest, would I be recovered enough from the epic five-mile PR? Also, would the weather be as cooperative?

Unfortunately, the answers seemed like "No" and "No" as I stood in the light wind and 39-degree cold at the start line outside of the Little Falls Recreation Center on Paterson Avenue, in the front of the approximately 100 people running this 12th PV Rotary race, with legs that still felt worn from Thursday.

No matter - the goal here was to finish my comeback season stronger than ever. Even if could capture just a little of that Ashenfelter magic, I would best my 18:24 PR from last year. But the thought of a sub-18 was an undeniable force in my brain, so at the go command, I bolted out with all of my might northbound onto McBride Avenue and into the left turn on Lackawanna Avenue in Woodland Park.

I was in third place after the left turn on Riverview Drive as I passed the first mile marker at 5:41, which was dead-on perfect for the ultimate ideal sub-18 goal. The hill in the second mile would inevitably slow me down, so an eight-second cushion on top of the Ashenfelter pace was necessary.

Before the big hill, I began to overtake the second place runner. He put up a weird fight by speeding up to prevent me from passing and leaning into me, almost literally pushing me into the middle of the street. But by the time we got to the hill, I shook him loose and bounded up with all my might.

There was not a lot of might left, though, as my legs started to burn with fatigue. Clearly, the back-to-back races were too much. The left turn onto Union Avenue at the crest of the hill was a relief, but I could already sense there was precious little gas left in the tank. When I reached the second mile marker on after the left turn on Walnut Street, I knew my pace had taken a hit, but was throroughly dismayed by the 6:09 on my watch.

Math swirled again - I needed to hit the third mile in 5:36 in order to make up that time to finish at my record pace from Thursday. I needed a 5:34 in order to hit that elusive sub-18 5K finish. Those times are achievable for me on fresh legs in the first mile on a good day, but this situation was none of those three things.

Since this was the very last mile of an incredible racing season in which I trained harder and ran faster than ever before, there was only one thing left to do: Push it to the limit. All the way. No holds barred. Nothing held back.

No matter if it hurts (it did), or the potential of injury (very real), this mile was the culmination of everything for which I strived this year. And it was flat for the first half and downhill for the end.

I came damn close, somehow pushing out that last 1.1 miles at a 5:44 pace. So even though I saw the clock turn over into the 18-minute range as I barreled toward the finish, there was not a shred, not an inkling, not an iota of disappointment as I crossed the line in (a distant) second place with a new, almost improbable, PR of 18:08 and an average pace of 5:51.

When I first started running at age 30, the thought of a sub-19 5K or a sub-6 pace was unimaginable. This autumn, at age 41, I did it with startling regularity. I have come an incredibly long way and have so very much of which to be proud. If this turns out to be the peak, I will be nothing short of satisfied.